Project Description

I was invited to make a new performance for Rua Red’s Annual Performance Art Festival, this year entitled Becoming Tallaght.

We were invited to a research day by the festival curators Olivia Hassett and Paul Regan. We spent the day walking around historical sites in Tallaght and also the general area. We learned about the history of Tallaght and looked at more recent additions such as the huge new data centre which was built on the grounds of the old Jacobs biscuit factory.

I came away from the research day thinking more about the busy shopping centre opposite Rua Red, and the noisy people about their business, and he cash for gold shop I saw as we walked around. I wanted to create something celebratory, something loud, joyful, brash, insistent, performative and strong. To celebrate the people of Tallaght and the resilience of the area.

I wanted to create a performance exercise class, and to lead the class in the form of buddha, golden, laughing, just like the buddha I saw in the window of the cash for gold shop. I thought about the music, as this would be very important to the success of the performance. Similar to the juxtaposition of a buddha teaching an exercise class in an art gallery, I wanted the music to be a juxtaposition. I wanted it to be incredibly beautiful and joyous, as well as loud, pumping, and repetitive. To play with the repetition until it almost became unbearable.

I researched Tallaght based nightclubs- the one I first came across was Entourage Nightclub, Address Abberley Court Hotel, High Street, Tallaght. Video clips online of the venue featured a busy night with people dancing the track ‘Set U Free’ by N Trance. I decided this track would be my starting point. I asked a musician friend to recommend me some uilleann pipers, and she put me in touch with Dave Stone, a piper from west Clare. I contacted him and explained my goal- to have someone reinterpret the track Set U free on the uilleann pipes. Dave took on the challenge and some weeks later came up with the most incredible music, with riffs and melodies, featuring echoes of the base melody and phrases of Set U free.  Then sent this to my brother in law Toddla T, a music producer. He took Dave’s interpretation and created a whole new track. I was 12 minutes long which meant I could play it in a loop 10 times, to make up the 2 hour performance.

Then I focused on relearning how to teach a step class, which I had not done for 15 years, since I had taught step classes in my early years of working in the fitness industry. I had to come up with a class I could get people to actually join into. I figured step would be a good middle ground, easy to learn the basics, and would look good performatively. I watched youtube videos and practiced daily. So each day I was listening to my track, practising my step exercise class and going through mid level strength training body weight exercises to also teach. I knew I’d need to know the whole thing off in my head, so that it would flow well. So I practiced until I could teach it and perform it off by heart.

The buddha part was the next challenge. I decided I would completely shave my head, to be as visually close to how the Buddha is depicted as possible. After a protracted set of emails and messages back and forth with Dublin Body Paint I ordered gold paint and mixer, enough to cover my head, arms, torso and legs. I bought a red lycra set- sports bra and shorts. The only elements I already had were a length of gold cloth, beautifully molten gold like, which I planned to use as buddha like robes over the red lycra set, and thankfully, my red trainers.

Description [approx 150 words]

A participatory, durational exercise movement class. Designed to last 2/3 hours, and to be accessible to audience/public to participate in. The artist appears as a buddha figure, specifically referencing Buddha, a 15^th century buddhist monk. The artist las Buddha leads the class from the front, possibly on a pedestal for visibility. The Room/Space is kitted out with stations, each one containing a reebok exercise step and an exercise mat. Ideally at least 20 stations.

Performance Concept:

The Buddha was known as The Awakened One. According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to freedom from ignorance, craving, rebirth and suffering. For our exercise class the significance of the buddha as teacher is their ability to teach a middle way between indulgence- food and laziness and asceticism- obsessive exercise and dieting. The buddha as lead instructor, teacher of the middle way, asks of us; who do we worship and what brings us joy? What is valuable to us?

Two me the idea of a participatory exercise class suggests exercise as a form of worship- exercise as community, exercise as spectacle, exercise as fun- exercise as both panacea and indulgence. This felt like a panacea to the contemporary commodification of fitness- its become something people feel they need to pay for- expensive diets, gym memberships, destination wellness festivals, weight loss jabs just to be an acceptable weight, and to be fit and strong.

Participation: Participants can simply watch, or can join in, participating for the full 2 hours or joining in for 5 minutes. It would be completely optional and up to participants. Class continues on regardless of number of participants.

Rua Red placed the performance in Gallery 1, and procured mats, aerobic steps, a music system and a headset and mike for the performance.

The performance itself was very interesting to be within. I was pleased that people participated throughout the 2 hours of the class. People watched, tried it out, did some, sat down, did a bit more, and so on. Just as I had hoped. The music was a little confusing and started too soon, which threw me off a little but that’s live performance. I wanted to keep going for the 2 hours, which I managed to do so more or less, without decreasing intensity or pace. The gold paint started to imprint itself on the mats I used as the performance progressed.

Once again thanks to Dave Stone, Thomas Bell, Rua Red Gallery and team, Olivia Hassett and Paul Regan